The Absorber
by Rucasofcamelot
Summary: A new mindcaster has arrived in town. But Eric has a secret. A deadly one.
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS!**

Chapter 1

Melissa leaned against the wall of the gas station. The dark moon would set in about fifteen minutes. She expected Jessica and Jonathan back before then. She had tasted a mindcaster in the area. But then it had just disappeared.

That was her job. Along with Jessica and Jonathan- Jessica in the secret hour. Ever since Samhain, that was the only time of the day they could see her.

Melissa tasted them now. They were "flying" back, now that the secret hour was almost over. But then something strange happened: Their tastes disappeared. "What the hell," Melissa muttered. She had a really bad feeling. Something was wrong. She ran.

The dark moon had almost completely set by the time she found them. Melissa felt her legs collapse beneath her. Jessica and Jonathan were both sprawled on the ground. They looked surprisingly like stiffs. That could only mean one thing for a midnighter.

"How..." Melissa croaked, fighting back tears. There was nothing else in the area. She knew. But people didn't just drop dead!

"NO!" She screamed, falling into the dirt, pounding it. "NO! NO! NO!"

"Yes."

Melissa whirled around. A dark figure with a black hood pulled over his head stood there, staring at her. Melissa had never felt more fear or hatred. She couldn't get anything from this guy's mind. "Who- who are you?" She stammered. "Why did you do this?"

The figure leaned closer to her and put a gloved hand on her cheek. Melissa felt a chill run down her spine.

"I'm here for you. For your death in particular," the figure said.

"My-" Melissa took off. The cloaked figure tackled her to the ground and turned her over on her back. Melissa felt a sharp pain in her chest. It was unbearable!

"Thank you," the figure said. Then he vanished. It was as if he had never been there.

Melissa forced up all her energy to look at her chest. All she could see was the handle of the knife the dark figure had used to stab her.

"Rex..." Melissa cried. Then she felt no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS!**

Chapter 2

Dess drove her new car- an old minivan of her dad's- up to Rex's driveway. That was when she saw him: he looked to be about her age, with short, golden- blond hair, and ice- blue eyes.

Dess got out of the minivan and approached the boy. "Uh, who are you?" She asked.

"Eric," the boy replied. "I'm new here."

"Uh-huh," Dess said dryly. "And is there any reason you're standing practically at my friend's door?"

"I was waiting for you, Dess," Eric said.

Dess started. "How do you know my name?" She demanded.

"Meet me at the library in two hours, and I'll explain everything." With that, he stalked off.

_That was weird,_ Dess thought.

"Hey," came a familiar voice from behind her.

Dess whirled around. "Hey back. Rex, did you talk to a guy named Eric?"

Rex's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Eric?"

"That answers my question." She then continued to fill Rex in on her mysterious encounter.

"You shouldn't go," Rex said. "I don't trust this guy."

Dess laughed. "You've never even met him, Rex. Don't worry. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." The truth was that Dess trusted this guy just as much as Rex did.

Two hours later, Dess headed down to the local library. She easily spotted Eric sitting at a corner table. She sat down across from him. "Any reason you wanted to meet here?" She whispered.

"It's a good place for a private conversation," Eric hissed.

Dess looked around. The place was practically empty. She turned back to the boy sitting across from her. "So, why did you want to meet me?"

Eric smiled. "I'm a midnighter."


	3. Chapter 3

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS**

Chapter 3

Dess nearly fell out of her chair. "Midnighter?" She hissed. "But... but..."

Eric smiled. "I'm a mindcaster," he said. "That's how I found you."

Dess felt that same exposed feeling she felt everytime she was around Melissa. Mindcasters creeped her out, for good reason. "So... is that all you came here for?" She asked. "To find others?"

"That's exactly why." Dess noticed a thoughtful, even sad look plague his eyes. "For years I've been alone, Dess. I think you know how that feels. I just wanted to have someone I could connect to."

Dess nodded. She knew exactly how he felt. She had been alone for years before Rex and Melissa finally took the time to find her. She stood up. "I need to go," she said. "Meet me at my house at midnight. Being a mindcaster, you'll find me easily."

Eric smiled. "See you then."

Rex frowned as Dess told her what she had learned at the library. She had headed back to his house upon leaving, and was now sitting in his paper- strewn room.

"This Eric guy is exactly what the others were looking for," Rex said. Dess noticed a distant look in his eyes.

"You still haven't heard from her?" She asked.

Rex shook his head. "No. Neither of them have contacted me in days. I'm starting to get worried. What if they ran into darklings they couldn't take on?"

Dess laughed. "No darkling can defeat the all- mighty flame- bringer." She squeezed Rex's hand. "Don't worry, Rex. I'm sure we'll hear from them soon."

Rex gave her a faint smile. "Yeah."

Dess suddenly felt very awkward and released his hand. "Anyway, can you come over at my house at midnight. I want you to meet this Eric guy."

"Yeah. It would be cool to finally meet a new midnighter."

"Very cool," Dess replied. But inside, her polymath intuition told her things were not quite right. The others had disappeared just as this new kid had appeared. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe not.


	4. Chapter 4

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS**

Chapter 4

Dess sat in her room, working on some of her toys. These ones weren't that special; She hadn't needed big- time weapons since Samhain. The one she was working on now was a steel rod called Analyzability.

She suddenly felt the familiar shudder of the blue time. "Gotta love that," she muttered, grabbing her rod and taking off into the blue- lit, very quiet street. At least it was for a moment.

"DESS!" Rex bellowed from down the street.

Dess waited until he was panting in front of her before saying, "You could wake the dead, Rex. What's wrong?"

"Didn't you say that Eric guy was a mindcaster?" Rex asked.

"Uh, yeah," Dess said, unsure of where this was going.

"Well, I just saw him flying. No, not flying. Jumping. Like Jonathan."

This threw Dess. Why would Eric lie about his talent? It made no sense.

"Hey!" Eric said, walking up to them. He must have touched down some way back.

"Hey," Dess said. She shot a look at Rex, warning him not to say anything about seeing him. "Welcome to Bixby, Oklahoma! Not exactly glamor at it's best."

Eric shrugged. "It's okay. I love small towns."

"Really? That's-" Dess stopped, seeing something in the air. In fact, quite a few somethings. And they were all headed their way.

"What is it?" Eric asked, looking up at the sky.

"Just a few slithers. No biggie." Dess replied, holding up Analyzability like a baseball batt. "Get ready to see us in action!"

Without warning, Rex fell to the ground, looking very sick. He clutched his stomach, heaving.

Dess turned to him, worried. "Rex, what's wrong?"

That's when another bit of trouble came.

"Whoa! What is that?" Eric nearly shouted, stepping back.

Dess inwardly groaned. "Psycokitty."

"Dess..." Rex muttered, pained. "I can feel it inside me."

Dess grasped his arm. "Rex, the last thing we need right now is for you to go darking on us!" Her head was reeling. What was going on?

The panther struck! As did the flying slithers! Dess swung Analyzability at them, knocking them a few feet. She knew it would only be a matter of seconds before they came back for Round Two. She turned to Eric. "I know you're an Acrobat. I don't care why you lied. I just want you to get us out of here!"

Eric nodded. He grasped Dess's hand. She felt that familiar lightness she hadn't felt since she had flown with Jonathan long ago. He grabbed a shaking Rex... and jumped! The slithers weren't far behind.


	5. Chapter 5

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS**

Chapter 5

"Faster would be nice!" Dess shouted.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Eric retorted.

_Where is Jessica when you need her_? Dess thought.

Suddenly, without warning, the slithers stopped following them. In fact, they flew away. Eric landed, gently setting Rex down. "That was strange," he said thoughtfully. He looked to Rex. "What's wrong with him?"

Dess remembered that Rex was having a halfling- fit. She ran to him, grabbed his shoulders, and held tight. "Rex! Rex, look at me! Get a hold of yourself!"

Rex's eyes slowly focused on her. He looked exhausted. "Dess..."

Dess sighed with relief. "That was close. I wonder what triggered your attack."

Rex shrugged. "I don't really remember anything... except the feeling of something breaking into my mind."

Dess bit her lip. "I don't like this. Let's get you home."

After Eric helped deposit Rex back to his house, he walked down the street with Dess. "This was quite a night," he said.

Dess laughed. "No kidding." She then grew serious. "Why did you lie to me about being a mindcaster?"

Eric stopped, suddenly stone- faced. "I didn't. I am a mindcaster. And I'm an acrobat."

Dess gave him a skeptical look. "That's not possible."

Eric gave her a sly smirk. One that sent a shiver down Dess's spine. "It's plenty possible. I can prove it. Right now, you're scared of me. More importantly, you're scared of the unknown."

Dess glared at him. "I have to go now." She hurried away, not stopping until at Madeleine's door.

Dess didn't know why she had come to this house. Maybe it was that when the old mindcaster wasn't keeping secrets, she had revealed some pretty big information. Dess was desperate for information now. She wanted to know what was wrong with Rex, what had happened to the others, and the truth about Eric.

She stepped inside. Dear Maddy was sitting on the couch, catatonic as usual. "I know you're crazy," said Dess, "but you are useful at times. I hate to admit it, Maddy, but I need your help. Too bad I'm not going to get any, huh?"

Without warning, Madeleine let out a terrible scream that sent Dess reeling back. She stared at the mindcaster with a mixture of intrigue and fear.

"The Absor- Absorber is here!" Madeleine cried. "THE ABSORBER IS HERE!"


	6. Chapter 6

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS**

Chapter 6

As suddenly as she had gone on her little tirade, Madeleine fell back into her catatonic state. Dess rushed over to her side. "Wait! Come back! What's the Absorber?"

No answer came in reply; Just a blank stare.

Dess walked over to Rex's house the following morning. She found him sitting in his paper- strewn room, reading, what else? A history book.

Rex looked up upon realizing she had arrived. "Dess, what's up?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Dess asked.

Rex nodded. "Yeah. I don't have any clue what brought on that attack though."

"I might," Dess replied, gravely. "Rex, is there anything in the lore about an Absorber?"

"Absorber? Is that supposed to be a talent? No, but keep in mind that there are still several unrecorded talents."

"Whatever it is, I think Eric is one," Dess said. She told him about Madeleine's exclamation. "The tone of her voice was absoloute fear, Rex. If Eric is an Absorber, we need to watch out."

"Funny," Rex said. "Usually, I'm the one giving out caution."

"You didn't hear Maddy," Dess retorted.

Eric was waiting for Dess when she returned home. Dess tried to avert her thoughts, but it was useless; Her fear was too strong.

"You know," Eric said. It wasn't a question.

Dess knew there was no point in lying. "You're the Absorber. Whatever that means."

Eric smiled. "It means I can absorb other talents from people."

"You mean you steal them?"

"Basically."

"And what do you do with the midnighters after you steal their talents?" Dess demanded, suspicion creeping into her mind.

Eric laughed. "You're a smart girl, Dess. You've realized that I don't let my victims live after I've stolen their powers. Jessica, Jonathan, and Melissa can vouch for that."

Dess felt as if her world was spinning. The others were dead! Eric had killed them! "You monster," she hissed. "Why are you telling me this?"

Eric crept closer to her, glaring at her menecingly. "Because, Dess, you're next."


	7. Chapter 7

**I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS**

Chapter 7

Dess turned on her heel and ran. She ran as fast as she could! Eric had managed to kill Jonathan, Melissa, and Jessica. Even though she knew she beat them in the intelligence department, she knew she didn't have much chance against this guy.

Dess whirled around a corner, and ran right into... Rex!

"Uh, hey Dess. Mind watching where you're going?" Rex said, picking himself off from the ground.

"Rex, we have to move!" Dess responded frantically. "Eric is chasing me! He killed the others, and now he's after us!"

"But why-" Rex stopped mid- sentence. His face had suddenly contorted into an expression of absoloute pain. He fell to the ground, deep red blood soaking the back of his trenchcoat. "REX!" Dess screamed.

"There is no helping him," Eric said. He had come from another direction, from behind Rex. He held a gun with a silencer attatched in his hand.

"YOU MONSTER!" Dess cried, tears falling freely down her pale cheeks. "Why are you doing this?"

"I guess you can say for power," Eric replied, shrugging. "I take powers, then I kill the ones I steal them from. This is an amazing gift, Dess. After so many times of absorbing mindcaster abilities, I've managed to enhance the talent to the point where I can even control darklings."

Cold realization hit Dess like the bullet that had killed Rex. "Of course... you sent those darklings after us last night. All so you could prove yourself to Rex and me."

"I gained your trust, then struck you down," Eric sneered. "Your friends are all gone, Dess. Just make things easy and stay still."

"Go to hell!" Dess retorted, launching herself at him.

The two of them, absorber and polymath, wrestled for control of the gun. Then something else caught Dess's attention. Eric had a knife attatched to his pants. She reached out and snatched it. "Now die!" She shouted at Eric. She stabbed him in the chest, just as Eric's finger found the gun's trigger, and fired.

Dess found herself being thrown to the ground by the blast, blood seeping from her chest. Despite the pain, Dess smiled. She got him. She had avenged her friends, though to do so, she knew she had also paid the ultimate sacrifice. Her eyes closed as she fell into eternal darkness.

a/n: Sorry to those who were expecting a happy ending!


End file.
